News

Mid Essex CCG Finalist for Two National Awards

Two schemes which aim to raise standards of patient care in mid Essex have made the final shortlists for a prestigious Health Service Journal (HSJ) Award.

The HSJ Awards, now in their 34th year, celebrate excellence in healthcare across the country and aim to highlight innovation and change making a real difference to public services.

Transformation work led by Mid Essex CCG during the past 12 months in relation to patient care and improving Accident and Emergency (A&E) targets has been shortlisted in two significant categories: Acute, Community and/or Primary Care Services Redesign and Improved Partnerships between Health and Local Government.

For the Acute, Community and/or Primary Care Services Redesign award judges sought entries that demonstrated best practice, public and stakeholder involvement and value for money.

To respond to the needs of an ageing population, a number of health providers focused on building more responsive relationships based on shared goals to improve care. Mid Essex CCG worked with these partner agencies and patients to develop the ‘IAM’ form, which records the wishes of the patient regarding their care in a way that can be easily shared.

The scheme has prompted a drop in unnecessary hospital admissions, with frail and elderly patients able to remain within the comfort of their own homes whenever possible.

For the second award, for Improved Partnerships between Health and Local Government, entrants had to show their commitment to collaboratively tackling a key issue currently faced by health and social services.

‘Learning to Trust’ is an initiative that supports the development of stronger partnerships between health and social care teams, to improve the patients’ experience with regard to attending A&E, their hospital journey and timely discharge to the most appropriate setting. At a time when there is increasing demand on hospital services, the new scheme has produced a number of positive results, including reducing the amount of time people stay in hospital and a 50% reduction in delays to discharges for patients with complex conditions.

Accountable Officer for Mid Essex CCG, Caroline Rassell, said of the awards shortlist: ‘We’re delighted that two of our projects have been recognised by the HSJ Awards judges.

'Our brilliant staff are fully committed to consistently delivering a first class and sustainable health service, which always has the needs of the patient at its heart. We have worked hand-in-hand with partner agencies and local people to find innovative ways of improving care and it’s wonderful to be acknowledged in this way.’

Dr Caroline Dollery, Chair of Mid Essex CCG, had this to add: ‘Mid Essex CCG has been identified as one of the 11 most challenged health economies in England. We are in a position where we have to plan our work and scrutinise our decisions more carefully than ever before, as we find new ways of working that are both cost-effective and safe and reliable for our patients. Under these conditions, being shortlisted for these awards is an extraordinary achievement and we are very grateful to everyone who contributed to the success of these projects.’

The 2015 HSJ Awards received over 1600 submissions from health providers across the UK, with Mid Essex CCG competing against approximately 100 other healthcare bodies in each category to reach the finals.